This Hero entry was written in the fall of 2011.
Today was another very special day … A Cool, brisk and breezy fall day … certainly special in its own right but not the complete story of the day. Over lunch I met with my old friend and former coworker, Ron King. Ron was one of my first hires when I formed Dailey’s Office Productivity Center, an upscale office design company. In our years together we formed not only a great work relationship but a close personal friendship as well. However, in the mid 1980’s I sold the company, left the business and unfortunately lost contact with Ron.
Today we reconnected and it felt really good. Ron is still in the same business but now he’s the business owner. What made this reunion even more meaningful to me was his invitation to tour the business. What made this reunion a huge eye opening surprise to me was walking thru his front door, making a right turn and stepping into a cavernous warehouse space with more than one thousand bicycles neatly arranged row after row. And, What made this reunion so heartwarming was seeing and hearing his story.
After reading a newspaper article highlighting the need for bicycles for kids three years ago he formed a charitable entity named “Recycle Bikes for Kids”… . In this same three year period he totally refurbished more than 2000 bikes and donated them to kids at Christmas.
Wow!!! Talk about a “Local Hero” … I cannot imagine anyone more deserving than my recycling friend, Ron King.
PS: It’s also rather nice to have a recycled friendship.
Jim Dailey 
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